During a guided walking tour of Saint-Petersburg, I learned that this cat statue is special. It is located on a very small shelf along the wall on the pedestrian street Malaya Sadovaya.
People stop by and try to send pieces of money on the shelf. Make a wish and if your piece of money touches down the shelf, you wish will come true.
I made some searches and I found that this cat is called "Yelisei".
This statue is a monument to Yelissei.
"In Russia , during the course of the siege in world war II, most of the city’s pets were killed for food, but the authorities soon found that the lack of cats was causing a public health menace.
Rats multiplied, leading to unsanitary conditions, an increase in disease, and shrinkage of food supplies. What to do? 5,000 cats were brought in from other cities, and they put things right in short order. Rats were brought down, ergo, they didn’t eat up precious food stores or leave droppings that caused human illness.
There’s a monument to Yelisei the cat… for good luck, the people of St. Piter say that you should toss a coin at his feet… try it, it just might work for you."
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Now the verification question : If you look at the cat, there will be a fountain in your back. There is a special kind of ball in that fountain. What kind of ball is it?
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